1. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to a ski boot having a rigid or semi-rigid shell with an overlying upper that is constituted, on the one hand, by a rear collar or journalled collar, and on the other hand, by a tongue of a front-foot cuff, covering the front upper zone of the shell.
2. Description of Background and Relevant Information
Ski boots of the aforementioned type are known and must fulfill a variety of functional criteria and, as such, they especially require the use of rigid materials for the construction of their shell, so as to be adapted to instantaneously transmit the impulses from the foot of the skier, and therefore enable precise control during skiing. To this end, the foot and the ankle are generally tightly maintained in the boot by adjustable portions that are more or less flexible and/or anatomical, and are protected from any injury or harm at the level of their joints by rigid portions of the shell and of the upper, journalled with respect to each other and relatively spaced from the adjustable portions. However, although such boots ensure that the ski functions well, they are not always adapted to enable functioning in the resting or walking positions, and this is indispensable to the skier's comfort while accessing and/or waiting at ski lifts in winter sports resorts.
In the French Patent Publication No. 2,667,224, a boot of the aforementioned type has been described and taught by the Applicant. Indeed, in such a boot, a slit extends longitudinally from the upper front end of the shell base to the front edge of the upper where it ends. A front cuff fixed on the tip of the shell base covers the slit and extends to the lower part of the leg where it is connected with a rear collar to ensure closure of the upper. This front cuff extends rearwardly and upwardly by a relatively flexible tongue. In the front zone of the cuff, tightening means of the foot in the shell are arranged, whereas the flexible tongue enables both an adaptation to the configuration of the lower part of the leg, as well as a deformation that is adapted to ensure a spacing of the other portions of the upper, enabling the boot to be put on. This spacing, which is maintained manually by the skier while putting on and removing the boot, is rarely an easy exercise for the user, and handicaps the boot with a certain discomfort of use.
According to another boot structure disclosed in European Patent No. 0 133 476, the skier can use a rear entry type of boot whose upper is constituted by two front and rear portions journalled on a shell base at two different points, and spaced apart in such a way that the upper obtains what is commonly known as a tulip opening. At the moment of closure of the boot, the front upper is folded back rearwardly, so that it covers the lateral edges of the rear upper and encircles the latter by means of a rear closure device. A sort of rigid control rod is located inside the front portion of the upper, the control rod ensuring transmission of forces from the tibia to the instep zone. Such a constructional arrangement clearly shows that the advantage procured by the tulip-type opening of the upper is reduced, on the one hand, by the presence of the control rod which remains in the vicinity of the contour of the lower part of the leg, including when the boot is opened, and on the other hand, by the "blind" closure of the upper that occurs at the rear of the boot.